1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to door stops, specifically to a door stop configured to hold a door in an open position.
2. Description of the Related Art
A doorstop, or a door stopper or a door stop, is an object or device used to hold a door open or closed, or to prevent a door from opening too widely. Alternatively, a doorstop can be a thin slat built inside a door frame to prevent a door from swinging through when closed.
A door may be stopped by a door stop which is simply a heavy solid object, such as a rubber, placed in the path of the door. These stops are predominantly improvised. Historically, lead bricks have been popular choices when available. However, as the toxic nature of lead has been revealed, this use has been strongly discouraged.
Another method is to use a door stop which is a small wedge of wood, rubber, plastic, cotton or another material. Manufactured wedges of these materials are commonly available. The wedge is kicked into position and the downward force of the door, now jammed upwards onto the doorstop, provides enough static friction to keep it motionless.
Another strategy is to equip the door itself with a stopping mechanism. In this case, a short metal bar capped with rubber, or another high friction material, is attached to a hinge near the bottom of the door opposite the door hinge and on the side of the door which is in the direction that it closes. When the door is to be kept open, the bar is swung down so that the rubber end touches the floor. In this configuration, further movement of the door towards being closed increases the force on the rubber end, thereby increasing the frictional force which opposes the movement. When the door is to be closed, the stop is released by pushing the door slightly more open which releases the stop and allows it to be flipped upwards. A newer version of equipping the door with the stopping mechanism is to attach a magnet to the bottom of the door on the side which opens outward which then latches onto another magnet or magnetic material on the wall or a small hub on the floor. The magnet must be strong enough to hold the weight of the door, but weak enough to be easily detached from the wall or hub.
Some improvements have been made in the field. Examples of references related to the present invention are described below in their own words, and the supporting teachings of each reference are incorporated by reference herein:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,844, issued to Raheb et al., discloses an improved doorstop comprising a block member. A structure is for securing in a removable manner the block member against a leaf of a hinge on a doorjamb, so as to stop a door from closing completely into the doorjamb and preventing fingers of a hand of a person getting caught and damaged between an edge of the door and the doorjamb.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,681, issued to Neighbors, discloses a door stop arrangement is directed between a door frame and a door for positioning upon a hinge to effect maintaining the door in an opened configuration. The door stop includes a “V” shaped body defined by a joinder line, with the “V” shaped body including an “L” shaped handle extending rearwardly of the body bisecting an acute included angle between the plates defining the body to permit positioning of the “L” shaped handle overlying the hinge when the plates are directed between the door and door frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,904,992, issued to Agster et al., discloses a door stop device comprising a block member, a receiving channel to facilitate placement of the device onto a door hinge, and an attaching means suitable for removably attaching the door stop device to an item of clothing worn by a user. The door prop device of the present invention is designed to be readily accessible and available for immediate use by those who primarily work in, or provide service to, the resort, hotel and motel industries.
U.S. Patent Publication No.: 2012/0248797, by Caliguri et al., discloses a portable door propping apparatus includes a first arm, a second arm, and a coupling member. The first arm is pivotally coupled with the second arm. The portable door propping apparatus can be hung on a door hinge, to facilitate propping of the door in an opened position. Methods are also provided.
U.S. Patent Publication No.: 2005/0050681, by Schlitter, discloses a magnetic doorstop comprising a magnet to be placed on or near the metal surface of an interleaving knuckle of a door hinge, said magnetic doorstop preferably being shaped in the same arc or other contour as the knuckle, or having another suitable configuration, so as to be held by the magnet in the desired position. As the door to which the hinge is attached opens, the magnetic doorstop will prevent the door from opening beyond the point at which the doorstop comes into contact with the opening door, or with any part of the doorframe, doorjamb or hinge leaves.
The inventions heretofore known suffer from a number of disadvantages which include being limited in use, being difficult to use, being non-magnetic, being difficult to hold in place, being complex to use, being damaging to the door, being expensive, being ineffective, being inefficient, being bulky, requiring the user to bend over to use, failing to keep a door open, slipping/sliding/shifting during use, being bulky, having sharp/jagged/pointed protrusions, not being versatile, being weak, catching on clothing or other items when not in use, and not having a compact mode for storage.
What is needed is a door stop that solves one or more of the problems described herein and/or one or more problems that may come to the attention of one skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with this specification.